Chapter 1 #2
His face lit up like a boy who had caught his first fish.
He glanced out of the window. “Then I suggest you stroll to Netherfield Park to spend the night with your favorite sister. You will not want to be here when I inform your mother and sisters of the change in their circumstances, although three miles may not be distant enough to avoid the volume of their complaints. They should return from your aunt Phillips’s shortly.
” He bent toward her. “As mentioned, we depart Hertfordshire in two days. You and I are to be at the London Docks exactly one week after leaving the girls at the academy, the second of April. High tide is at eight o’clock in the morning . ”
“Is that enough time?”
“I believe we have little to pack.”
“One more question, if I may. The letter says that Professor Drye extended three invitations. Did he include the identities of the other gentlemen with the first clue? Will we be traveling with them?”
He shrugged. “Whether or not we know them is unimportant. I trust Professor Drye. He will have carefully curated these individuals. No doubt they will be of similar age to me. For a certainty, they will be honorable, and respectable. That is the professor’s nature.”
Elizabeth felt as though she stood at the edge of a precipice. Behind her lay everything familiar and safe. Ahead lay uncertainty, danger, and the sort of experiences she had only read about in books.
“Very well.” She started to rise from her seat but settled back down.
Despite her reservations, she could not suppress her elation.
This opportunity represented everything Longbourn lacked: adventure, mystery, the unknown.
She did not doubt that, were she to look in a mirror, she would sparkle even as she mentally protested the sensibility of it all.
“Papa, we are truly going on a quest unlike anything I ever expected.”
“I know, dear girl. As the bard says, ‘The anticipation of pleasure is often as good as the pleasure itself.’ We will see for ourselves if this is true, shall we not?”
“I expect we shall.” When she had awakened that morning in the guest room of Hunsford Cottage, she could never have imagined she would be returning to Longbourn before dusk.
Two days until London. Seven days to prepare. Nine days until she would abandon everything familiar for the utterly unknown.
Gathering her bonnet, Elizabeth quickly covered the three miles to Netherfield Park, using the distance to reflect upon the weeks she had spent in Kent.
The visit would have been delightful had it consisted only of Charlotte’s companionship.
Still, Mr. Collins’s servile attentions to his patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, the grand lady’s overbearing interference, and her nephew, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, considerably diminished Elizabeth’s enjoyment.
Mr. Darcy arrived in company with Colonel Fitzwilliam, who made the perfect foil to his arrogant cousin.
Where Mr. Darcy of Pemberley in Derbyshire brooded in contemplative silence, as he had done during his stay of two months at Bingley’s estate the prior autumn, the colonel filled every room with his presence.
He was quick to laugh and quicker still to provoke his solemn relative.
Though Elizabeth’s hasty departure from Kent meant disappointing farewells to Charlotte and Colonel Fitzwilliam, she experienced no regret at the prospect of never encountering Lady Catherine or Mr. Darcy again.
Charlotte had taken a bold leap of faith in accepting Mr. Collins’s proposal after so brief an acquaintance and had found unexpected contentment. Reflecting on her own leap of faith—agreeing to this journey with her father—made the miles to Netherfield Park pass swiftly.
“I knew you would agree,” Jane Bingley greeted her with a warm embrace, as though they were parted for years instead of mere weeks. “You would never allow father to go alone. Besides, you have always yearned for a bigger life than our shire can offer.”
“You know me too well. Our father has shuffled his responsibility for Mama and Longbourn to you. Are you certain you do not mind? Are you not overwhelmed already?”
Bingley said, “We are thrilled at the possibilities, Lizzy. Though neither of us has any desire to see Egypt or Rome, you will return home with tales to entertain us for decades.”
Tension drained from Elizabeth’s body. “Then I am grateful to you. By the bye, while visiting Charlotte, I met a gentleman who claims an acquaintance with you, Charles. Mr. Darcy’s cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam. In observing the cousins, I noticed how different their characters are.”
Bingley grinned. “They are as different as night and day, though both are good men. Darcy is the finest fellow I know. Other than when he was mistaken about Jane and his first impression of you, Lizzy, I have always known him to see people accurately, a talent I envy. I tend to think well of everyone until proven otherwise. He has saved me from any number of poor decisions. I sometimes wonder if his cautious nature prevents him from taking chances that might lead him to a happier life. Steadfast as a rock, he is.”
Elizabeth struggled with Bingley’s easy forgiveness. Mr. Darcy’s interference had nearly prevented her sister’s current felicity. She had held Jane through her tears when her spirits dimmed with each day of Bingley’s absence. Elizabeth looked between them, satisfied with their obvious affection.
“His cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam…is he equally meddlesome in other people’s affairs?”
“Richard? He is everything delightful in a companion. He is as pleasant and honorable as Darcy.”
Mr. Darcy, pleasant? Elizabeth’s imagination failed to stretch that far.
“Had I not been summoned home early, I am sure it would have been a pleasure to spend more time in the company of the colonel. Not with Mr. Darcy.” Despite Bingley’s praise, she was painfully aware of Mr. Darcy’s conceited disdain for the feelings of others.
The first moment she met him the prior autumn, he had insulted her at an assembly.
Since then, nothing she learned about him improved her opinion of his character.
Bingley frowned. “Although they approach the world quite differently, the cousins are devoted to one another, and each recognizes the other’s strengths. Darcy wishes he had Fitzwilliam’s ease with people, while Fitzwilliam respects Darcy’s unwavering principles.”
Elizabeth remained unconvinced.
Jane attempted to change the topic of conversation. “Are you eager to travel?”
“Though I shall miss you and Charles dreadfully, I would not trade this opportunity for anything.”
She did not add that leaving England also meant blessed freedom from encountering Mr. Darcy again—a relief for which she was eternally grateful.